[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/2828805 w=400&h=302] The Rural Studio from BluePrint Productions on Vimeo. “The Rural Studio is a design-build architecture studio run by Auburn University which aims to teach students about the social responsibilities of the profession of architecture while also providing safe, well-constructed and inspirational homes and buildings for poor communities in rural west Alabama, part … Read more
Hello, I am building a superadobe dome here in Brazil and was wandering if I could ask you for some advice about safety issues. It is one dome only building with internal diameter about 24.6 ft wide (7.5 m) and we are using 19.7 inches (50 cm) wide poly bags. The estimated height we´ll be … Read more
“The Barefoot Architect, in its evolution, came out a stunner. Not only in looks, but also in both usefulness and practicality in today’s world. We didn’t anticipate the timing, but the green movement matured as this book was being produced and it’s a perfect intersection. At a glance, the book may appear to be about … Read more
“This article is a distillation of various tips and tricks I’ve learned for making salvaging and building an enjoyable and rewarding process. Building with salvaged materials has many potential advantages. First, salvaged materials are usually less costly than new materials, and they may be of better quality (e.g., well aged wood that doesn’t shrink, crack … Read more
An inexpensive option to thick concrete floors. The diagram below is from the 1972 book “The Owner Built Home”, by Ken Kern. In this discussion Kern describes a lightweight 1″ thick fiber reinforced floor system that had been tested extensively in India. The system starts with a flat earthen floor surface that has been loosened … Read more
Stephen and Nena MacDonald’s post and beam strawbale house in Gila, New Mexico that was built in 1988-1989. The initial shell was $5/sq. ft. and the finished cost was between $7-$8/sq. ft. – Permaculture.org “Build our house out of straw?” When our neighbor suggested the idea as a solution to our housing problem, both my … Read more